Tournament Rules

All games will be played under NFHS rules and amended as follows:

Any rule controversy will be handled at the discretion of the head umpire and tournament director. 

Reporting Scores

Both teams should text scores and any issues to the tournament director (240-485-4559) immediately following the game.  Scores will be posted on this website, but only if they are sent in.  If there is a discrepancy in score between two teams, the tournament director will make reasonable efforts to reconcile, but will use the home team's book if unable to do so.  

Time Limits

No new innings after one hour and forty minutes (1:40) from first pitch.  Extended to two hours (2:00) for championship games only.  No drop dead time.  Time limits may be adjusted at tournament directors discretion based on weather or other extenuating circumstances.  If previous games end early, teams should be prepared to start up to 30 minutes early.

8U Coach Pitch Special Rules

• Coach shall throw to the batter from within five (5) feet of the pitching rubber.  The coach will throw overhand to the batter from a standing or kneeling position.  

• The batter strikes out after three (3) strikes swinging or six (6) total pitches if they have not put the ball in play, but cannot strike out on a foul ball.  There is no strike zone.  A pitch is a strike only if the batter swings.  There are no balls or walks.  

• The player in the defensive position of pitcher shall be within five (5) feet of the pitching rubber to the side or behind, but not in front of the mound until the ball is hit by the batter.  

• The coach is considered part of the field.   While they should make every effort to get out of the way of a ball in play, the team should continue to play a ball that bounces off a pitcher.  

• Teams can play ten (10) fielders with four (4) in the outfield grass.  No short fields (extra infielders) allowed. 

• Maximum of five (5) runs per inning except the last inning, which is unlimited.

• Maximum of one (1) base on any overthrow between players.  Runners may not advance on throws to the coach pitcher after the play has ended or between pitches.

• For balls hit to the outfield, runners can advance as many bases as they want until an infielder takes possession of the ball in the infield and calls time (raises hands over head).  At that point, runners will be positioned by the umpire at the nearest base.  If halfway to the next base, they will be given that base.  If not, then they will return to the previous base.  

Run Limits

No maximum run limit per inning, except as noted for 8U Coach Pitch above.

Mercy Rule

Twelve (12) runs after three (3) innings, or two and one-half (2 ½) innings if the home team is ahead.  

Ten (10) runs after four (4) innings, or three and one-half (3 ½) innings if the home team is ahead.  

Eight (8) runs after five (5) innings, or four and one-half (4 ½) innings if the home team is ahead.

Roster

Players may not play on more than one team per age bracket.

Batting Lineups

Teams may bat 9 batters, the entire roster, or any number in between. Once the number of batters is determined, it must remain the same throughout the entire game. Each team must announce their options when exchanging line ups with the other team at pregame conference with umpires. A substitute is defined as any player not placed in the original batting lineup to begin the game. As soon as a substitute bats or runs for another player (except courtesy runners), the substitute and the original starter are locked into that batting lineup slot and either one may bat or run at any time (in that lineup position only).  A team can play (including start) with less than 9 players, but must take an for any missing batters less than 9 until a substitute becomes available to fill that spot.  

Defensive Substitutions

Teams may substitute for defensive positions as many times as they wish independent of the batting lineup, as long as the batting order remains the same. A player does not have to bat to play the field. The only exception is the pitcher position where a player may not return to the mound after another player becomes the pitcher of record.

Injuries

If a player is injured and no substitute is available, that spot in the lineup will be skipped with no penalty, even if this takes the team under 9 players. If an injury occurs during an at-bat, the next batter in the lineup will take over that at-bat and assume the count. If an injury occurs while on the base paths and no substitute is available, the player that made the last recorded out will take the place of the injured player on the bases. If a player is unable to bat or run, the player is no longer eligible to play in the rest of the game offensively or defensively. 

Field Dimensions

8U/9U/10U: Sixty foot (60') base paths.  Forty-six foot (46') mound distance.

11U/12U: Seventy foot (70') base paths.  Fifty foot (50') mound distance.

13U and up: Ninety foot (90') base paths.  Sixty and one-half foot (60.5') mound distance.

Game Length

8U/9U/10U/11U/12U: Six (6) inning games, or five and one-half (5 ½) innings if home team is ahead.  Three (3) innings, or two and one-half (2 ½) innings if home team is ahead, will be considered a complete game if the game must end early for weather, darkness, or other extenuating circumstances.  First pitch thrown constitutes a game for the purposes of refunds.  

13U and up: Seven (7) inning games or six and one-half (6 ½) innings if home team is ahead.  Three (3) innings or two and one-half (2 ½) innings if home team is ahead will be considered a complete game if the game must end early for weather, darkness, or other extenuating circumstances.  First pitch thrown constitutes a game for the purposes of refunds.    

Extra Innings

Seed games can end in a tie (i.e. no extra innings).  Bracket games must end with a winner, so extra innings shall be played (even after the time limit) until a winner is determined using the international tiebreaker rule where each extra inning starts with the last batter of the inning on second base (no outs).  Any innings started after the time limit are considered extra innings and will follow the international tiebreaker rule.

Infield Fly

8U/9U/10U: No infield fly rule.

11U and up: Infield fly rule in effect.  Runners can advance at their own risk.

Dropped Third Strike

8U/9U/10U: No dropped third strike rule.  Ball is alive for all base runners.  

11U and up: Dropped third strike rule in effect.  Ball is alive for all base runners.  

Leads

8U/9U/10U: No leads allowed.  Baserunners may not leave their base until the pitched ball crosses home plate.  Leaving early shall result in the runner being called out.   No stealing at 8U.  

11U and up: Dropped third strike rule in effect.  Ball is alive for all base runners.  

Balks

8U/9U/10U: No balks.

11U/12U: One warning per pitcher per game.  Immediate dead ball.

13U and up: No warnings.  Immediate dead ball.

Bat Restrictions

8U/9U/10U/11U/12U/13U: All bats must have either the BPF 1.15, USABat, or BBCOR designation displayed on the bat.  No other weight or size restrictions.

14U and up: BBCOR -3 bats required for all players, including younger players playing up.

Courtesy Runner

Optional anytime for pitcher or catcher.  The runner must be different for pitcher and catcher in the same inning.  Runner should be a substitute player if not batting the entire lineup, otherwise last batted out.  If using a substitute player as a courtesy runner, this does not count as a lineup substitution.  

Slash Bunting

8U/9U/10U/11U/12U: The slash bunt is illegal, and the player will be called out if this play is attempted. A slash bunt is defined as a player showing bunt at any time during the pitch and then swinging at that same pitch.

13U and up: Slash bunting is allowed.

Head First Sliding

Sliding head first at players discretion is allowed into all bases at all ages, although discouraged at younger ages.  

Baseballs

The tournament will provide up to 4 new baseballs per game.  It is both teams' responsibility to ensure foul balls and homeruns are returned to the umpire.  A team may choose to replace a homerun ball with a new and equivalent baseball if they want to give the homerun ball to the hitter.  If teams are unable to retrieve the foul balls, then they should provide new or lightly used baseballs to allow the game to continue. 

Cleats

8U/9U/10U/11U/12U: No metal cleats.

13U and up: Metal cleats allowed.

Pre-Game Warmups

No warmup on the infield before games.  Teams may warmup in the outfield or in foul territory once the previous game ends.  Batting cages and surrounding green space may be used on a first come basis where available.

Expected Behavior / Ejections

Negative behavior and bad sportsmanship is not acceptable by players, coaches, or fans.  Umpires or the tournament director will eject anyone they deem as not living up to expected behavior.  They may issue warnings at their discretion.  Anyone ejected from a game will be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.  Coaches and fans must leave the premises immediately upon ejection.  Ejected players must leave the field and dugout area, but may stay with the fans.  If a player is ejected and no substitute is available, the team will take an out every time that spot in the lineup comes up.  Ejection is not appealable, but suspensions for remainder of tournament may be appealed to the tournament director or their delegate.  

• Use of noise makers is not allowed during the tournament.

• Abusive statements towards anyone will not be tolerated.

• Profanity will not be tolerated.

• Alcohol and all tobacco products are not allowed during the tournament.

Music

Teams are welcome to play music while warming up or between innings.  However, please keep all music clean and turn it off during game play.  Elicit lyrics are not appropriate for this environment.

Dugouts

Hosting team has first priority of dugout, then it is on a first come basis.  Teams should remain in the same dugout if playing back-to-back games on the same field.

On-Deck Batter

Positioning of the on-deck batter may vary based on the field layout and will be handled at the discretion of the umpire.  For example, on larger fields, the on-deck batter should stay by their dugout, but for smaller fields, they should use the on-deck circle behind the batter to protect them from foul balls.

Home Team

Home and away teams specified for pool play games.  Each team scheduled as home team for one game and away team for the other.  During bracket games, higher seed (i.e. closest to 1 seed) is home team.  

Seeding

Seeding for bracket based in order on:

1. Win percentage (win/loss/tie record)

2. head to head results (if only two teams have the same record)

3. average runs allowed

4. coin flip

Weather

If a game is ended due to weather or darkness and cannot be continued, then the score will revert back to the last completed inning.  

Refunds

Full refunds until schedule is published.  Then, 75% refund if no games played and 50% if 1 game played.  No refund if 2 or more games played.  First pitch thrown constitutes a game for the purposes of refunds.  

Pitching Limits

There are no pitching limits enforced by the tournament.  However, coaches are expected to use good judgement and not overuse any single pitcher.  The following are recommendations developed by USA Baseball and MLB.  The responsibility ultimately lies with coaches and parents to ensure that each player's health and development is properly maintained.